The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) demands the Australian government immediately and unequivocally condemns and takes action to prevent Israeli and American plans to complete the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza.
During the weekend, US President Donald Trump proposed that Gaza be “cleaned out” and Palestinians forcibly displaced en masse to Jordan and Egypt.
This proposal for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians is an explicit call for the completion of the Nakba, and the perpetration of crimes against humanity.
These remarks reflect a long-standing pattern of US-Israeli collusion in denying Palestinians their right to their homeland, and comes on the back of a number of statements by Israeli ministers, government departments, think tanks and conferences calling for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza.
By promoting and planning for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza, Trump risks violating the Rome Statute, which prohibits aiding, abetting or assisting the commission or attempted commission of a crime against humanity, and the Fourth Geneva Convention, which forbids the forced displacement of people under occupation.
The Australian government has a solemn obligation to issue a decisive official statement publicly rejecting Trump’s proposal to complete the ethnic cleansing of Gaza.
Australia must also publicly commit to supporting and facilitating the unfettered delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in every corner of Gaza, as well as immediately ending its support for Israel, which continues to commit genocide, apartheid and illegal occupation across Palestine.
Australia must act decisively to end its complicity and prevent the escalation of these crimes by:
- Suspending all trade and diplomatic relations with Israel.
- Implementing sanctions against Israeli officials and entities responsible for these crimes.
- Imposing a two-way arms embargo.
- Joining international efforts to hold Israel legally accountable for its genocide and apartheid.
- Supporting Palestinians’ right to return to their homeland, and their struggle for justice, liberation and equality.
Comments attributed to APAN President Nasser Mashni:
“For more than 15 months, Israel – with the full backing of its western allies, including Australia – has pursued a campaign of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and now the West Bank. Israel’s intentions have been brutally clear to the world – it has been working to erase an entire people from their homeland.
“Australia has failed Palestinians, just as it has failed people across this continent and the international community, wavering between passive complicity for Israeli genocide and apartheid and outright support for these crimes. By normalising these war crimes and crimes against humanity, our government has knowingly eroded the very principles of international law and human rights it claims to uphold.
“With President Trump now enthusiastically championing the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, Australia must act. Silence is not just complicity – it is tacit approval for a world in which genocide and apartheid are normalised, suffering and injustice is explained away, and international law is rendered completely meaningless.
“The Australian government must stand firmly for justice, international law and Palestinian rights.
“The stakes have never been higher. The world is witnessing genocide in real time, Israel and the US are leading the charge, and Australia is right there behind them.
“This appalling and horrifying moment demands courage, moral clarity and action from the Australian government – it must unequivocally reject this proposal, support Palestinians, and take meaningful steps to hold Israel and its allies accountable.”
Source – APAN.
